Hidden Humility
by smileaway96
Summary: Christmas brings out the kindness even in some of the most hard and selfish of hearts; such is the magic of the season. Families join together, old friends unite. Sometimes, these old friends mistakenly cross paths, for unexpected and forgotten reasons. You never know when an old acquaintance will come back to you . . . or why.
1. Patience

**A/N: Happy Holidays to everyone! 'Tis the season for Christmas fics, and this is no exception! Chapters a tad long, and it might not even seem Christmassy at some points, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. :) Merry Christmas, all! Note: This was only rated T because of some questionable themes; nothing really dark or violent. **

* * *

Rouge pulled on her boots and gloves, and then chose a heavy red winter coat to wear. She laid it out on the bed, admiring the color and style of the winter coat. Next, she went to the vanity mirror and checked her pink lipstick—for the fifth time. Somehow, after four applications, it just didn't look even enough. So she applied it once again and rubbed her lips together to make it absolutely perfect. The bat set down the lipstick and puckered her lips, complimenting herself on how she looked.

"I have never seen you get so dressed up for a G.U.N presentation," came a voice suddenly from the doorway. Startled, Rouge nearly tripped over the chair after getting up.

"Shadow, if you pull that on me _one _more time, I swear . . ."

"You'll mess me up only as a lady can," Shadow finished drily, "I believe we've been through this before."

"Hmph. Well, you know I would," Rouge retorted, pulling her arms through the sleeves of the thick red coat.

"Noted. Anyway, like I said, I've never seen you dress up so fancy for a G.U.N conference."

Rouge strutted towards the door and smirked at the black and red hedgehog.

"Ha! Neither have I," she scoffed.

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"You _are_ coming this time, right?"

Rouge stopped and tapped her chin sarcastically.

"Gee, I wonder? Take a guess, genius."

Shadow pushed Rouge onto her bed and slammed the door shut behind him. "Hey! What gives?" Rouge yelled, glancing at the clock, "I'm gonna be late!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and groaned.

"If the guys find out you aren't there again, they're going to be furious. And they'll give me and Omega hell for it."

"Hey, I haven't missed that many!" Rouge protested, "Look, I'll go to the next one."

Shadow sneered and crossed his arms.

"Rouge, this is the sixth one this month that you're skipping. And that's-" Shadow proceeded to fake counting on his fingers, "oh, I don't know, _all_ of them."

Rouge crossed her own arms and went back to the vanity mirror to see if the conversation had affected her makeup at all.

"Well, they can't expect me to be at all of the meetings. Besides, they're boring."

Shadow kicked a hairbrush across the floor nonchalantly. Upon doing so, he came to a realization.

"You're going out with that red cretin tonight, aren't you?" he asked.

Rouge scowled at Shadow as she finished aligning her eye liner.

"Call him that one more time, you son of a-"

"Watch it, Rouge. I'm dead serious, here. These conferences are important, and part of your responsibilities as an agent."

"Don't you dare lecture me, hedgehog. I'm not a little kid, nor am I your little kid."

"You made the decision to be a G.U.N agent, and if you don't fulfill your duties, then you'll be suspended. You have other commitments, Rouge. It's time you start respecting them, and the G.U.N guys."

Rouge paused and stared at the ground, annoyed. She couldn't deny it; there were other responsibilities looming over her. Paying attention to them, however, was a different story.

"I'm late. See you later," she mumbled, shoving past him and down the stairs.

"Rouge!" Shadow yelled desperately. It was too late, though. She had already bolted out the front door and past a very confused Omega.

"She's impossible!" Shadow screamed as he went down the stairs, not bothering to chase after her. "I swear, she's so difficult and stubborn!"

Omega, completely lost, stared unblinkingly at the frustrated hedgehog.

"You both have your moments," he said shortly.

Shadow pursed his lips and looked up at the robot's red eyes with his own.

"If we weren't late for this meeting, I'd smash your metal head in," he growled.

"If we weren't late, I should very much like to see you attempt that," the robot retorted.

Shadow, knowing this was a poor time for bickering, bit his tongue to keep a curse in his mouth.

"Come on, big guy. We gotta go. You're okay in snow, right?"

"Yes. Do not forget your scarf, Shadow," Omega replied.

Shadow raised an eyebrow and snorted.

"Yes, mother," he chuckled, grabbing a red scarf from the closet.

* * *

Rouge walked down the street, still grumbling to herself about Shadow's lecture. She succeeded in convincing herself that Shadow was right and she'd become more responsible later, and then dropped the subject as she looked at the snowy street. Boy, was it pretty. She definitely preferred seeing the beautiful city streets over watching some guy in a suit giving a lecture. Though it was a busy street with Mobians bustling up and down through the puffy snowflakes, Rouge could see that the snow falling was still a wonder, even through the skyscrapers and smoke being emitted from the buildings. It'd be much easier to fly, but the bat didn't want the unpleasant feeling of the biting wind freezing her wings. _Now, where did Knuckles tell me to meet him?_ she thought, making a right on a busy intersection. Directly to her left was a tiny cafe called, "Angelique's Corner". _Ah, here we go!_

Shivering, Rouge opened the door of the cafe and brushed the snow from her coat. She hoped her makeup wasn't too smeared from the walk in the snow, so just to be safe, she pulled a tiny compact mirror from her pocket and analyzed each part of her face: eyes, cheeks, and mouth. When she approved of the appearance of her face, she put away the mirror and scanned the area for Knuckles. While she looked, someone bumped her from behind after opening the door and letting in a strong breeze.

"Hey, watch it," she said before turning to see who it was. To her mild surprise, it was Blaze and Silver. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know it was you guys."

"That's all right, Rouge," Blaze said, greeting the bat with a warm smile, "how are you on this beautiful day?"

"Oh, just peachy," Rouge replied, "I guess I can't complain. How are you two?"

Silver stomped his boots on the wet rug to rid them of stubborn snow and ice flecks.

"We're doing pretty good," he said, "Blaze and I have decided to walk through the city to see what we can do for fun. This little place seemed cozy, so we decided to stop in for a hot drink."

Blaze nodded.

"That's right. It's awfully cold outside, you know," she said.

"Yes, I've noticed," Rouge responded with a glance out the window. They paused for a moment, and then Blaze asked Rouge a question.

"Well, Rouge, what brings you here? Are you doing the same as we are?"

"I'm going to be, just as soon as Knuckles shows up."

"Oh, how nice! That sounds like fun!"

Silver stepped in line behind a small trail of Mobians who were waiting for their own hot beverages to temporarily escape the cold.

"Blaze, what do you want?" he asked.

Blaze looked at the menu above the counter, scrutinizing each item carefully.

"Oh, my, let me see now . . ." she mumbled, "uhh . . . get me a green tea latte, please. Mmm, that sounds good." Blaze turned to Rouge. "Would you like something, Rouge?"

Rouge looked over the menu and stuck out her bottom lip in thought.

"Well, I dunno . . . I wouldn't want you guys to buy me anything," she said, trying to be uncharacteristically polite.

"Oh, nonsense!" Blaze exclaimed, "We'd be happy to buy you something on this cold day. Go on; pick something!"

Rouge raised her eyebrows, surprised by Blaze's kindness.

"Well, all right, then," she replied without arguing. Rouge turned her eyes to the "coffee" section of the menu. "I'll have . . . let's see, now. I'll have a caramel mocha, please."

"Gotcha," Silver said, giving Rouge a thumbs-up. Rouge nodded and thanked him and Blaze.

"Oh, no trouble," Blaze said as Silver recounted their order to the lady behind the counter. In a few silent moments, all three of them were sitting at their table; Rouge in a chair, and Silver and Blaze in a booth against the wall. They took the first few minutes at the table to enjoy their drinks and sip them quietly . . . well, except Silver.

"Try not to slurp, Silver," Blaze said gently. Silver sighed.

"I'll try," he mumbled. Rouge smiled at his childish response and continued to sip her own drink.

"Rouge, didn't you say Knuckles was coming here?" Blaze asked as Rouge was caught in mid-sip. She quickly licked her lips and cleared her throat to reply.

"Yes, he's supposed to meet me here soon," Rouge said, glancing at the clock, "about fifteen more minutes or so."

"Oh, you're early, then," Blaze said, raising her eyebrows as she stepped on Silver's foot under the table, causing him to choke slightly on his drink.

"Ow!" he gasped, "Are you crazy?"

"Stop . . . slurping," Blaze repeated slowly. Silver grinned mischievously.

"Fine."

Rouge chuckled, amused by the exchange between the mature Blaze and the naïve Silver. She never did get much of a chance to see them talking to each other, considering her constant G.U.N involvement. Maybe that's the reason she wasn't going to recent meetings—she felt overworked. Yeah, that was it. This was just a little break. Though a slight feeling of guilt tugged at her mind, Rouge tried to push it away and enjoy the time she had. However, anyone would agree that freedom invaded by guilt isn't freedom at all. This, be that it may, was not Rouge's current mindset.

"Rouge?"

"Huh . . . what?"

Silver poked at Rouge's motionless arm with a wrapped straw while Blaze called her name. After breaking her daze, the two stared at the bat curiously.

"You all right?" Silver asked cautiously.

"Oh . . . yeah, I'm fine." Rouge chuckled and sipped her drink again.

Blaze and Silver shrugged off the strange moment and dropped the subject, replacing it with awkward silence and the sound of sipping straws. Eventually, the drinks became cold as they decreased with every sip. Blaze sighed and glanced over at Silver, who was using his psychokinesis to balance his cup upside-down on the straw.

"Silver . . ." she said warningly. The hedgehog, startled by Blaze's warning, dropped the cup noisily and watched as it fell to the floor. Cringing, Silver meekly picked up his empty cup and smiled sheepishly at his companion.

"Sorry . . ." he apologized.

Blaze chuckled and sighed again.

"So, Rouge, would you like us to stay here with you while you wait for Knuckles? We'd be more than happy to keep you company."

Rouge pondered for a moment. She did enjoy being in Silver and Blaze's company, but she felt a need to be alone at the same time. At least, before Knuckles could show up.

"Nah, you guys can go ahead. The ol' treasure-keeper will probably be late anyway, and I wouldn't want you to waste your time."

"Well, if you insist," Blaze said uneasily, "Silver, would you stop that?"

Silver looked with wide eyes at Blaze again, who caught him red-handed as he slid an old green gecko's coffee mug on a different table back and forth with his mind and chuckled as the gecko tried to grab it, confused. Silver ended up accidentally sliding the cup of coffee off the table, thus shattering it and causing it to splatter all over the floor.

"Oh, shoot . . ." Silver shut his eyes and winced under Blaze's firey glare. "I'll take care of that . . ."

Rouge laughed as she watched Silver humbly offer to pick up the pieces of the glass. Blaze pursed her lips and scowled as the hedgehog gingerly removed the shattered mug from the ground and put them in the garbage can. The elderly gecko, rather than assuming that Silver was to blame, simply smiled and claimed that accidents happen.

"Can't take that little maniac anywhere, can you?" Rouge teased, nudging Blaze in the shoulder.

"No, unfortunately not," Blaze exhaled, "he ought to be locked up."

"Gotta do the same for Rouge," said a deep voice behind the two girls. Rouge gasped and pivoted around, seeing a massive red figure standing there.

"Geez, you're just as bad as Shadow!" she exclaimed. "And hello to you too, sweetie."

"Okay, I'm all set!" Silver said, running back to Blaze's side. "That guy was pretty cool about the whole thing. Hi, Knuckles."

"Hey, Silver. Hey, Blaze," Knuckles greeted them shortly. "You headed out, too?"

"Yes, we were going to, and then Silver decided to play games with elderly reptiles."

"Sorr-yy!" Silver whined, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!"

"Anyway, we're gonna go now," Blaze said in attempt to avoid Silver's childish whining. She nodded at Rouge and Knuckles. "I hope you guys have a good rest of the day, and stay warm!"

"Thanks, Blaze. You, too! Thanks for the mocha," Rouge said with a wave.

"No problem!"

Blaze and the shameful-looking Silver stepped out into the cold street again. Rouge sighed and turned to Knuckles.

"So, hon, you wanna get something hot to drink?"


	2. Intimacy

Knuckles peered at the menu and made a face.

"I guess I'll have a little something. Maybe I'll just take some tea. Get me some chai tea."

Rouge, appalled by Knuckles' poor manners, opened his giant mitts and stuffed her money into them.

"If you can't say 'please', then I won't do anything you ask. You're darn lucky I'm nice enough to buy."

Knuckles scowled and clutched the money.

"Yeesh, what's wrong with you today?" he asked, surprised. "Do I need to beat up one of your teammates? Are they bullying you?"

"No; I can handle that myself, thank you very much. I'm just shocked that you'd ask a lady to buy your drink. Not to mention you can't even say 'please'," she replied, crossing her arms.

"My manners are rusty; I apologize," Knuckles said, counting the money in his hand. "Here, take your money back. I'll use mine."

Rouge sighed and took her money back, shoving it all back into her shiny sequined wallet.

"I'm sorry, hon. I didn't mean to snap at you like that," she apologized, using a frisky tone of voice.

"Ahh, don't worry about it. Lucky for you I'm trying not to explode on anyone today."

"Aww, you're staying calm for me?" Rouge asked playfully, placing her head on the echidna's neck, which bore a fuzzy blue scarf.

"Well, you could say that," Knuckles replied quietly, "and get off me. I'm trying to get myself some tea."

Rouge obeyed without arguing. She figured that if today was going to be spent wisely, she'd stay calm like Knuckles. No more bickering; it'd be a relaxing and argument-free day. Although it was fun to tease the big, tough guy every once in a while.

Knuckles ordered and paid for his tea, and then the duo sat down at a booth together. Rouge looked out the snowy window and watched the Mobians running about. Knuckles smacked his lips after consuming some of his tea.

"So, what did you have in mind for today? We going to see a movie or something?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know," Rouge replied, "Do you have any ideas? What do you do for fun?"

Knuckles growled and took another sip of tea.

"I guard the Master Emerald," he said, "I don't get out much, besides when Sonic needs me for whatever reason. You, of all people, should know this," Knuckles added with a slight air of bitterness.

"All right, all right." Rouge waved her hands, trying to flag down any looming temper rise, "I'll think of something. How about . . . ice skating?"

"Can't balance; hurts my ankles," Knuckles abruptly stated.

"Walk in the park?"

"Too cold."

Rouge tapped her foot impatiently.

"Uhh . . . fancy restaurant?"

"I don't own any suits," Knuckles said, creating a quick excuse.

"Hmph. How about a bar?"

Knuckles winced.

"That's your idea of fun?"

"You said to think of something, and that's what I'm working on. Ooh, maybe a casino?"

Again, Knuckles made a grimace.

"Gambling? No, no, no; bad idea."

Rouge threw up her hands, frustrated.

"Well, you decide, then! At least I'm thinking here!"

Knuckles smugly brought the cup of tea to his lips and brought it back down. He bit the inside of his cheek in thought and looked up at the ceiling. After a few moments of speculation, he shrugged.

"Why don't we just start with somewhere to eat? Somewhere suitable for lunch, maybe?"

Rouge raised her eyebrows.

"Not a bad idea, sweetie. You must be hungry after watching that old rock all day, huh?"

Knuckles glowered at Rouge.

"Not another mention of the Master Emerald today, got it? I'm here for a temporary break from my normal job. You're lucky to have convinced me to come this far," he added, smirking. "Anyway, I am pretty hungry."

On that note, Knuckles and Rouge continued to discuss their plans for the rest of the day. Pretty soon, they agreed on stopping at a small Italian place for lunch, and that they'd think up different ideas as the day progressed. The plan seemed foolproof and ready for commencement as the duo walked out of Angelique's Corner and down the street to the Italian restaurant.

* * *

The rest of the day went along smoothly, and Knuckles and Rouge made up their schedule as the day passed by. The Italian restaurant was Knuckles' favorite, especially when he kept spitting straw wrappers at the waiters who passed by. Rouge, however, was less than amused. The poor victims of the attacking echidna watched him walk out with relieved smiles on their faces.

Rouge chose the next stop, which was a movie. The movie, picked by Rouge, was an old classic detective romance film in which the detective falls in love with a female felon, who had already been engaged to one of her partners in crime. Rouge enjoyed the drama immensely, while Knuckles simply yawned through most of it and gulped down three large buckets of popcorn, two sodas, and a box of chocolate candies. At one point, Rouge put her hand over Knuckles' shoulder while he was chomping noisily on the popcorn, thus startling him and causing him to drop the bucket loudly. A chorus of "Shh"s erupted from the rest of the women watching the movie. Knuckles glowered at the floor and shamefully picked up his buttery tidbits.

Next, the pair walked through the streets to go shopping. It had only been a suggestion from Rouge, but, to her surprise, Knuckles had agreed to go. So they popped in and out of various shops and boutiques to look at and buy various items. With Rouge distracted by some shiny and expensive jewelry, Knuckles snuck to another section of the store to buy her Christmas gift. After purchasing it, Knuckles spotted a lost-looking white bat and decided that he was done with shopping for the moment. Rouge agreed, her arms lined with the colorful handles of different shopping bags, and together they walked out of the store. Being partially gentlemanly, Knuckles offered to carry Rouge's heavy shopping bags. After all, his strength was certainly an advantage to the bat. Any girl would be happy to have a boyfriend with both manners and muscle. Such was the case with Rouge the Bat, who was proud to have Knuckles with her.

Now, because it was getting darker outside and evening was upon them, Rouge and Knuckles concluded(well, mostly Knuckles) that dinnertime was fast approaching. It took them a little while to find a suitable place for dinner, especially considering many Mobians crowded the restaurants for the holiday season. Since the sky was darkening and the streets were becoming illuminated with holiday lights and festively decorated shop windows, the couple chose to eat at a semi-formal restaurant with less of a line.

"How about that one?" Knuckles asked, pointing at a place called, "Ornate Mobian Dining Hall". Rouge wrinkled her nose, partially because it was very cold, partially because she was confused.

"Aw, sweetie, that place looks pretty expensive, if you ask me," Rouge said, "maybe we ought to find somewhere else to go?"

"Nah, I'll pay for it all," he replied, once again putting Rouge in a slight state of shock, "You wait here for a minute. I'll be right back."

Knuckles ran through the short line of cold Mobians and disappeared into the building. Rouge shrugged and wiped off some snow from a nearby bench, not caring if her nice red coat was getting wet with the snowy residue. Shivering, the bat looked at her surroundings for the first time. There was a tall Christmas tree in the center of the square that was down the road, and was absolutely gorgeous with its crystal-like ornaments and light blue strings of lights. On top rested a bright star, shining brightly and beckoning onlookers to come and gaze on its beauty. The rest of the street was lined with wreaths, bows, and poinsettias as well as the picture-esque street lights. Couples walked up and down the brick paths along the road, sweetly holding hands and enjoying the scenery.

Rouge sighed at the sight. It certainly did contain a special magic, especially during the holiday season. Somehow, city streets never seemed as neat and trim as they did during the holidays. Rouge continued to gaze around, lost in an enchanted world of Christmas magic. As she scrutinized her view, Rouge noticed a darker sight on the bright and colorful street: two young Mobians wearing ratty clothes and holding cigarettes. Upon closer inspection, one of the young men was a rabbit whose gray ears were slicked over one eye, and the other was a brown rat with ugly yellow teeth protruding from his upper lip.

The gray rabbit turned his focus to Rouge, who quickly looked away. Somehow, those two were _familiar_ to her. She just couldn't remember who they were or where they were from. Glancing over again, she perused the clothing on the juveniles. Both were wearing torn leather jackets and baggy jeans. The rabbit had a green beanie cap and a ripped white t-shirt under the jacket. The rat had a striped scarf and a pair of ripped black gloves. His tail, which was long, pink, and fleshy, looped around his old sneakers like a snake. Rouge, somewhat disgusted by the sight, shuddered and abruptly turned again. Little did she realize however, that the rabbit and the rat were now staring her down, analyzing her features as she had done to them. The rabbit took a drag on his cigarette and turned to his companion with a silent question in his eyes. The rat nodded, and the two slipped into the alley that they were standing in.

Rouge blinked and once again looked at the dark spot. The two mysterious figures were gone; disappeared into the shadows.

"Rouge, c'mon!" called a familiar voice. The bat looked over her shoulder to see Knuckles in front of the shining building and gesturing for her to come to him. She noticed that he was wearing a full suit with a bow tie and a red boutonniere. Overwhelmed by this surprise, Rouge ran to him and gave him a huge hug.

"Oh, hon, you look absolutely amazing!" she cried, "You said you didn't have any suits, sweetie," she added, pulling away from her date.

Knuckles' face turned redder than it already was as he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Well, see, this isn't my suit . . ." he explained as they walked into the restaurant. "I borrowed it from Sonic."

Rouge hooked her arm on Knuckles' arm.

"Hmm. Well, you do look _dashing_, hon," she said playfully.

"Thanks. And you look . . ."

Rouge widened her eyes as Knuckles was about to—could it be possible?-compliment her. Eagerly, she waited as Knuckles struggled to be charming.

"Y-you look very nice," he stuttered nervously. Rouge beamed at him.

"Aw, your awkward speech just makes you so much more cute," she crooned, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, don't mention it," he muttered, "now I'll, uh . . . t-take your coat."

They arrived at their reserved table(Knuckles had done some prior planning), Knuckles took Rouge's red winter coat and placed it over a chair, thus revealing her sparkling black dress for the first time that day. He pulled out the chair and sat his date down in it.

For the first time in long time, the pair was getting along very well as they talked, laughed, and dined that evening.


	3. Hesitant To Receive

Shadow and Omega had returned from their meeting a few hours before Rouge returned to her house. They stayed in her house, waiting to tell her what the G.U.N commander had told them. However, Rouge had wisely left her phone home to cut off communications from her "pesky" teammates. At this point, it was 10:30 P.M., and Shadow was aimlessly pacing in the living room.

"Where the heck could she be?" he muttered, irritable. Omega sat on the couch, growing annoyed, but more so with Shadow than Rouge.

"Enough," he said, in attempt to calm Shadow down, "Perhaps you are in need of sugar."

Shadow stopped his pacing to glare at the robot.

"Do I look hungry?" he growled with his teeth clenched together.

Omega stood up and gazed menacingly down on Shadow.

"You ought to follow the television advertisements and eat a Snicker's bar. You are not yourself when you're hungry," he said, all too seriously.

Shadow stared at Omega, both in disbelief and in confusion. That was enough to make him crack a small smile and chuckle.

"As far as I remember, the ads on TV are 'deplorable and futile'. Weren't those your exact words?" he prompted.

"I said, 'despondent'," replied the robot, "and I may or may not have been describing you at the time also, as you were mesmerized by that infernal screen."

Shadow, though slightly distracted from his rage, suddenly let it take over him again.

"Come here, you-" he yelled as he lunged for Omega. The robot dodged and tried to nab the angry hedgehog with his claws. Shadow continued to yell at Omega, and Omega threw fists at him. Soon, the ordeal broke out into a full-scale brawl right in Rouge's house. Shadow was clearly outraged as he shot Chaos Spears through the house, knocking over furniture and occasionally striking Omega. Omega was only defending himself, somehow wisely recalling not to shoot while indoors, especially Rouge's house. He would not, however, attempt to talk Shadow out of his anger because he refused to pass up the chance to prove himself stronger than the angry hedgehog.

The doorknob started to tremble as Rouge placed the key in the keyhole and gave it a twist. Over the noise, Shadow and Omega could hardly tell that she was home. The bat could hear the noise and, becoming alarmed by it, opened the door to find a paused showdown between the Ultimate Life Form and his companion Ultimate E-series robot.

"Wha-" Rouge dropped her keys in shock and looked around the living room. It was, what most people would say, trashed. "What are you two doing?!" she shrieked, furious.

"We'll clean it up," Shadow muttered, quickly getting up and somewhat calming down. "I swear. But first-"

"You'd better clean this up, and I mean right now!" Rouge yelled, slamming the front door behind her. "Here!" She stormed to a broom closet to find something to clean with while Shadow stuttered in protest.

"Rouge, there's something I-"

"I don't care! Take this broom and get your tails to work this minute!" she screamed, throwing a broom and dustpan at the protesting hedgehog, "I want this house flawless in one hour!"

"Rouge, wait!"

The bat flew up to her room and slammed the door shut. Shadow gripped the broom and bared his teeth angrily. Omega analyzed every tipped piece of furniture, broken vase, and scorch mark in the rug and on the walls.

"Don't think about making me the scapegoat," he remarked drily as Shadow pursed his lips together, "You were the start of this. And I do not have a tail," he added fiercely, confused by Rouge's phrasing, "get your tails to work".

Shadow snarled murderously at the robot. "You ought to start picking up that furniture, rustbucket, before I throw you into the junk pile."

"I wouldn't try. You are in no way better than me."

Shadow decided that it would be wise not to push the subject any further and began to sweep up pieces of a broken vase.

* * *

Rouge lay in her bed, scowling at the ceiling. Shadow and Omega had really done it this time, trashing her house and all. She glanced at the digital clock at her bedside and hoisted herself up so she was sitting upright.

A slight knock came at her bedroom door. Rouge harshly answered with a sharp tone of voice.

"Are you done yet?"

Shadow turned the knob and opened the door wide, revealing him and Omega, who was carrying a large stack of papers.

"Yes, we've finished cleaning our mess," replied the grumpy hedgehog. "This," he indicated the papers, "is for you."

Omega stepped clumsily into Rouge's room and dropped the papers neatly next to her dresser. Confused, the bat frowned at the stack as Omega retreated back into the hall.

"What is it?" she inquired, getting up to examine the thick leaves of paper, "fan letters?" Shadow walked over to them and started flipping through them casually.

"This is a collection of G.U.N files that have been discussed in the past seven meetings. They go through newest weaponry development, mission files, important general messages, and all that. We have this holiday break off-"-Rouge's eyes brightened upon hearing this- "but the chief said you are to stay home and read all of this before we go back to work."

Rouge's jaw dropped. The stack of papers was at least three hundred pages, fronts and backs. The bat stared furiously at the paper, feeling some sort of betrayal radiating from Shadow. He looked grimly at the papers and shook his head. "It's a shame you can't join us in participating in any Christmas activities," Shadow added smugly, "if only you'd have attended those meetings."

The bat's hands trembled as she stood motionless in the middle of her room.

"Get . . . out . . ." she managed to utter, "now."

Shadow grinned evilly, happy to have proved his point and give Rouge a final "told-you-so" look. Rouge's mind filled with disappointed rage as she imagined her freedom being crushed by the heavy G.U.N papers. Her partners remained for a few more seconds, watching her expression progress from absolutely dumbfounded to pure anger. She looked at both compatriots with fury brimming in her eyelids. "Didn't you hear me?! I said, 'get out'!"

Shadow continued to smile as Rouge forcefully shoved him through the doorway and slammed the door in his face.

"The chief wants you to read all that, or else you'll be suspended!" he yelled to the door.

"I don't give a crap, Shadow! Get out or I'll wipe that stupid grin off your face for you!" she responded, her voice cracking slightly.

"You'd better give a crap, Rouge! I'm not going to babysit you on this!" replied Shadow in a deep-voiced warning.

"Ha! You babysitting me?! Please! You two couldn't last ten minutes by yourselves!"

"We were here for three hours before you got home, not to mention that fight broke out two seconds before you walked in!"

"I don't care; you still couldn't be trusted alone with Omega, nor will you ever be again!"

"_Then come to the damn meetings!_" Shadow screamed, this time so powerfully that he rendered Rouge completely speechless. Frustrated beyond belief, Shadow glided downstairs and out the door with Omega. "C'mon, we gotta go," he muttered. Thus, Rouge was left alone, seething with anger in her room.

* * *

Shadow and Omega walked quietly down the city streets, just as all businesses were shutting their lights off and the employees were returning home after a long day of busy holiday shopping. The snow was beginning to fall harder, with thicker snowflakes and higher wind speeds. Shadow pulled his scarf over his chin and mouth as a chill traveled up his spine.

"How're you holding up, big guy?" he asked through chattering teeth. "Any malfunctions due to temperature drops?"

"Not yet," Omega replied, not taking his eyes away from the road. Shadow nodded distractedly and curiously looked around as the streetlights became the only lights that illuminated the roads.

Both of them walked silently for a long time, neither one of them knowing where they were going nor when they'd arrive somewhere. Shadow considered finding an abandoned building because he didn't like the biting wind and snowflakes throwing themselves into his eyes. Omega, being as sturdy and stubborn as a rock, couldn't exactly shiver like a being with blood flowing through his veins, but instead started producing strange sounds from his joints as he walked. They creaked and clunked as he took his steps carefully. Who knows what he was thinking?

Shadow stopped and sat down next to a closed-up building, resting himself underneath a a broken window. Omega stopped, too, but he didn't seat himself. He merely stood next to the hedgehog and stared down at him, as though silently asking, "What next?"

"Ahh, I dunno, big guy," Shadow started, "I'm not sure where to go from here. We obviously can't go back to Rouge's place, and we can't just stay here." He peered at the dark interior of the building through the broken glass. "Maybe we can camp out in here for now."

Omega didn't respond. Shadow shrugged and opened the door, surprised that it wasn't boarded up or locked. To be safe, he called into the large room before entering.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?"

No reply came. Shadow stepped in, followed by a cautious robot. The huge room looked as though it was an abandoned movie theater. The seats were dusted over with cobwebs and appeared untouched, except for a select few. Shadow lowered the seat, unthinking, until he heard a slight sound—a gasp. Immediately, the hedgehog let go of the seat, creating a loud noise as it slapped back up in a cloud of dust. Scrounging the area, the hedgehog carefully lit a chaos flame on his hand and peered in the row in front of him. There, hidden between the seats, were two pairs of large and nervous eyes.

One of the small figures uttered a stifled cry. One of them placed her hand around the other's mouth and looked up at Shadow and Omega, frightened.

Bewildered, the hedgehog and his companion exchanged glances. Shadow quietly observed that the two figures were children. Turning back to them, he softly spoke, putting out the chaos flame quietly.

"Are you kids all right?"

The two children abruptly nodded.

"Y-yes," one of them stammered, "w-we live here, sir."

"Yes, sir. Y-you aren't here to t-take us away, are you?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow and slowly shook his head.

"No, but wouldn't you rather be living somewhere with . . . well, at least a decent heating system?"

The kids shuddered, and one responded to the question with tears in his eyes.

"W-we like it here, s-sir. And we don't want to be taken to an orphanage 'cuz we're not orphans and we want to stick together with-"

"Shut it!" the sister shushed, clapping a hand to her brother's mouth and stared into Shadow's eyes, silently pleading with him. Shadow thought to himself, occasionally glancing at Omega, who was still very confused by the situation. He made a gesture that Shadow perceived to be a sort of shrug. The dark hedgehog studied the bright and worried eyes of the children and felt a sort of warmth kindling in him. Maybe it was a feeling of sympathy buried deep in his heart, or maybe it was his scarf. His scarf . . .

Shadow removed his red, fuzzy scarf and held it out as a simple offering to the kids. Concerned, the children backed into the seats and analyzed the scarf in the hedgehog's glove.

"Take it. I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me right now. You kids ought to stay warm in this dusty old place."

Shadow dropped the scarf on the cobwebbed seat, and watched as a tiny and scaly hand slowly accepted the offer.

"Th-thank you, mister . . ." replied the soft voice of the little girl. "Thank you so much."

"A-and Merry Christmas, too," said her brother.

"Merry Christmas, kids," Shadow answered, smiling. Omega followed him as he went out, but only after offering the children two coins he'd found on the ground.


	4. Reaching Out

The lonely duo continued down the empty city street, looking once again for a place to stay for the night. Wandering through the snow was becoming a very exhausting task for Shadow, and he wanted to prevent Omega from becoming rusty after walking many miles through the snow. At one point, both of them stopped under a streetlight to rest.

"For once, I have no ideas," Omega stated. Shadow chuckled at the statement.

"Same goes for me, big guy. I dunno where to go. My only thought is that Rouge is probably in no mood to see us again, so that rules out her place."

Omega nodded in agreement(heavens, could it be so?) with Shadow.

A short silence, sprinkled with the sounds of wind and distant cars rushing along the highway, ensued as the duo stood motionless under the lamp.

Unbeknownst to the pair of lost souls, there stood another figure in an alley. He leaned against the building on his right, clawed thumbs placed in the pockets of his leather jacket. The figure spat a cigarette out of his mouth and licked his sharp teeth while releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth. Shuffling his spiked black boots on the cracked cement ground, the figure stroked his frill that was resting on his back. The scaly figure looked on as Shadow and Omega tried to think of where to go, deep in thought. Hatching an idea, the figure scraped his claws on the brick wall, creating a sound to distract the duo. As he saw the hedgehog's red eyes moving around, appearing as innocent as his robot friend, the lizard cracked a mischievous grin.

Wary, Shadow and Omega searched for the source of the strange scraping sound that supposedly came from nowhere. After the encounter with the two kids in the movie theater, the two of them had become more aware of their surroundings, growing skittish at small sounds. Omega's small eyes scoured the street, and suddenly fell upon a shadow scurrying across a brick building. As if his instincts kicked in, the robot began machine gunning at the figure, following it as it gracefully moved around the building. Startled, Shadow jumped at the loud and sudden gun sounds, cursing and punching at the hard metal shell of his friend.

"Wait! Calm down; you'll probably get us shot, you-"

Shadow didn't have time to finish his insult before letting a bolt of chaos energy loose on Omega. The bolt bounced off of the robot and flew into the sky. As for Omega, he stopped his irrational shooting and kept his eye on the brick building across the street.

"A bit high-strung, your friend is," came a heavily-accented voice from behind them. Shadow, like Omega, immediately reacted.

"Chaos spear!" he cried, pivoting around and shooting chaos spears from his hands. The voice's owner flew backward, struck by the sudden burst of light. Nonetheless, he chuckled and kept his cool as he regained his footing.

"I guess that goes for you both," he muttered in his New York accent. "No more; I'm not lookin' for trouble, see? Look, you're givin' me rips in my scales."

Shadow stayed in a fighting position, readying himself for battle. The scaled figure got back on his feet and laughed.

"Heh heh . . . don't worry, mac, I'm completely unarmed. Search me, officer." He opened his leather jacket, revealing an alligator belly with many scars. Shadow kept a suspicious red eye on the lizard.

"Who are you? And what do you want from us?" asked the hedgehog bluntly.

The lizard bowed, opening his frill slightly.

"Fellas who know me like to call me Bruce. Full name's Bruce Sternitt, but I'm partial to just Bruce. I'm a frilled lizard. Check it out," he said, turning to the side to show off his frill that was closed against his back. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

Shadow glowered at the shady lizard.

"I'm Shadow, and this is Omega. We were heading home," he replied quickly.

"Oh, I get ya, fellas. Busy guys, I'm sure. Ah, you G.U.N agents gotta get your sleep in, too, right? Heh, sure ya do."

Shadow widened his eyes, even more incredulous. He took Bruce's leather jacket in two hands and stared him straight in his cold eyes.

"Listen, I don't know what you're after, Sternitt, but you can bet on staying away from my friend and I here."

"Hey, hey, hands off the jacket," Bruce snapped, pulling away from Shadow's grip. "And don't you ever tell me to bet on nothin', you got it?"

"Don't tell me what to do, you scaly street rat. I'm warning you to leave before things get ugly."

"Well, hear me out, then," Bruce offered, a little more polite, "I need some help from a couple of fine gents like yourselves." After saying this, the lizard pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. He held out the box, offering one to Shadow. "You smoke, pal?"

Shadow stared at the box in disgust. Bruce pulled it back and shrugged, stuffing it back into his pocket. "The polite way is to say, 'No thanks, I don't smoke'."

"My patience is running pretty low, lizard. If you don't tell us what you want, we're leaving."

"Now that's no way to treat a poor fella at this time 'a year. Season of giving and all that, you know?"

Shadow gave a menacing look to Bruce, his eyes becoming two red flames as his temper boiled. Bruce smiled and took a drag on his cigarette.

"All right, I got you. Look, I'm a pretty broke guy, see? Got no money in my pockets. Gettin' by is tough for a fella like me. But with your help, I can change all that, see?"

Shadow crossed his arms.

"I'm listening," he growled.

"Well, see, I've got a lot on my plate right now, you follow me? I ain't in any trouble with the cops or nothin' like that, okay? I'm not a bad guy, or at least, I hope I'm not. Now, you two guys are pretty tough from what I've seen. It takes guts to start shooting like crazy in the middle of the night. I'm surprised the cops aren't here yet. But tomorrow night, I want you both to meet me right . . ." Bruce looked all around for a suitable meeting place. Locating a specific alley, he pointed to it, indicating the direction it was in. "Right there. Both of you meet me there, okay?"

Shadow chuckled darkly.

"I don't think so. We're busy."

"Hey, hey, hey, now, fellas. Don't you guys have a Christmas vacation? Don't your boss have a heart?"

Shadow glared at Bruce again.

"No can do, Bruce," he declared, turning to leave. "I'm afraid we've still got things going on. C'mon, Omega; let's not take up any more of this street rat's time."

"_Don't freakin' call me that, you little piece of trash!_" yelled the lizard in a sudden reply. Bruce's outburst of sudden anger triggered the release of his frill in a huge circular shape around his head. Shadow jumped back, obviously taken aback by the threatening defense mechanism on the lizard's neck. The thin membrane was dotted with scars and some small tears. Bruce composed himself and chuckled. "Well, obviously it works, then," he said grimly, folding the frill back down against his sides. "Look, kid. I don't care if you're the hottest thing since sliced bread-toast; I need your help. Meet me tomorrow-"-he leaned in and grabbed Shadow by the neck- "or your little bat friend will have bigger things to worry about than just a couple 'a papers. Get my drift, hedgehog?"

Shadow, ever skeptical, lowered his head in thought. How on all of Mobius did this guy know about Rouge and her dilemma? And that he and Omega were G.U.N agents? Who was he really?

"Well, mac? How 'bout it? You meet me there tomorrow and everyone wins."

Shadow didn't know how to respond. Very carefully, he formulated an answer in his head, shutting his eyes.

"What exactly would you do to Rouge if we refuse?" Bruce let go of Shadow and straightened out his black jacket.

"Heh heh . . . I got a little something special in store for her. But it won't be much to ya if you show up here, right?"

"Yeah . . . right," Shadow mumbled.

"Good! Then I won't do nothin' to hurt her," Bruce declared, extending his hand.

The hedgehog absentmindedly accepted the scaly claws and shook on it. He knew that if he or Omega should get into any trouble, they'd probably be able to take it on. He definitely didn't want Rouge getting caught up in all of this; she'd either be kidnapped by this street rat or find out about the dirty business and never speak to Shadow again.

_Of course, I'd be okay with that,_ he thought smugly.

"Annnd you, big fella. How about we shake on it, huh?" Bruce held out his hand to Omega, who confusedly turned his gaze to Shadow. It was clear that Omega not only didn't trust the lizard, but also had no idea what to do with the hand he was being offered. Shadow made a gesture to guide the robot, who eventually managed to clumsily shake hands with Bruce. "Excellent! We got it all settled! Now, tomorrow, at around sundown."

"Sundown . . ." Shadow pursed his lips, immediately regretting his decision. He pulled on Omega's thick arm to lead him away, when Bruce called:

"Farewell, my new friends! Oh, and Shadow . . ." he added, taking a drag on the cigarette, "you ought to be merrier at Christmastime."

Shadow rolled his eyes while his back was turned to the lizard. He whirled around to make a smart remark, but only to find that Bruce had vanished into the darkness, slinking back to the night from where he appeared.


	5. Bittersweet Hope

fThe next morning, Christmas Eve, came quickly for all. Everyone in Central City was growing anxious for the imminent coming of Christmas day, and it shone through the smiles that everyone gave the other, the festive decorations balanced carefully and neatly on every building, and the large tree in the square. The snow fell gently and softly, accumulating romantically on the trees and streetlights.

In Emerald Town, where it was quieter and less busy in the streets, children were playing in the snow. Some made snowmen, others had more robust ideas of snowball fights. Such robust thinkers included Charmy and Tails, who had finished setting up their forts and were now loading the snowy ammo into the barracks.

"I shoulda made a snowball launcher!" Tails piped up, thinking aloud.

"No fair!" Charmy exclaimed, poking his head out from his fort, "you'd be the one ta win!"

"Well, I'd make you one, too!" Tails replied, "Don't think I'd just make one for myself!"

"Yeah, sure," Charmy drawled, not convinced. "Well, looks like I'm ready for battle! How 'bout you?"

"Gimme a sec, here . . ." Tails finished piling up his snowballs into a neat stack, and then brushed his mittens off, satisfied with his work. "All righty, I'm all set!"

Both kids took a single snowball from the very peak of his pile and smoothed it out. The first snowball must be perfect before thrown, after all.

"Ready, Tails?"

"Ready, Charmy!"

"Okey dokey, then! Fire all!"

And thus the battle commenced. Snowballs flew with surprising force across the tiny "no-man's land", occasionally striking one of the brave soldiers, to which he'd reply with a, "You'll pay for that!" or a, "Man down! Man down!". All the while, each one was laughing and keeping his spirits high in the midst of battle.

On the sidewalk parallel to Tails' yard, Knuckles and Sonic passed by, both bundled up in winter gear. Sonic mercilessly teased Knuckles, unable to comprehend the fact that he'd actually sat down to dinner with Rouge.

"Was there candlelight and music?" he taunted.

"Can't you drop it?" Knuckles growled, "I'm going to her house today. I met up with Shadow earlier this morning, and he said she missed a meeting just to spend the time with me."

Sonic's smile faded slightly as he heard this.

"Oh, gee . . . did she get in trouble?" he asked, more serious now.

"I'll say she did. This was the seventh one in a row that she missed. The commander gave her homework to last all through her break. Now we probably won't be able to exchange gifts tonight, like we planned. I'll just bring it to her now."

Sonic whistled his disapproval.

"That's rough, buddy. Well, look on the bright side! At least you can still hang out with us tonight!"

Before Knuckles could mutter a reply, Tails came bolting out of his yard, panting heavily from the exhaustion of throwing snowballs. He seized Sonic by the arm and yelled breathlessly to his opponent:

"I've got a hostage! Surrender now, or the hostage goes!"

"Hey! What's going on here?" Sonic asked, chuckling.

Charmy replied by stumbling over to Knuckles and grabbing his arm.

"Yeah, well, I got one, too! What'll you do now, fox boy?"

Charmy took a single look at Knuckles, who stared right back, straight in the bee's large eyes. The echidna's expression, being one of pure annoyed contempt, intimidated the little bee. Charmy released his grip and stuttered.

" 'Course, I can go without hostages," he stammered nervously.

Knuckles nodded his approval and walked off as Sonic became involved with the fight, laughing and throwing snowballs with the kids.

* * *

After a decent amount of walking through city streets, Knuckles arrived at Rouge's house and knocked on her door. He turned the small box around in his hands, re-examining its wrapping job.

"Who's there?" A tired voice came from behind the door.

_No doubt she wanted get caught up with her paperwork all night, _Knuckles thought.

"It's Knuckles," he replied. "I need to talk to you."

Knuckles could feel the deafening and angry silence produced from behind the door. Rouge slowly opened the door, revealing her purple bathrobe and drooping eyes.

"Come to tell me off, did you?"

Knuckles shrugged.

"More or less."

There was a short and awkward pause.

"Shadow told you, I take it?" Rouge asked harshly.

"Yup."

Rouge, with her keen eye, noticed the wrapped box in Knuckles' mitt and softened up slightly.

"Well, then, I guess I won't be seeing you tonight," she stated, trying to keep all disappointment out of her voice. Knuckles sighed.

"Yeah . . . too bad. Look, next time-"

"-go to the meetings, tell you if I've got something else going on, all that. I got it, hothead," Rouge cut off.

"Well, fine, then. Thank you for making that quick," Knuckles replied bitterly. He extended his hand with the gift. "Here's your gift. Merry Christmas."

Rouge stared at the brightly colored box and accepted it, feeling it in her fingers. She disappeared into the kitchen, and came out a second later with a metallic blue gift bag.

"Merry Christmas, hon," she said with a smile on her face. She hugged him briefly, and then Knuckles departed from the house.

* * *

The day dragged on as everyone made merry and prepared themselves for the next day. Children were extra-good, and adults were encouraging their behavior. Traffic piled up as visiting family members came into town to greet their brothers and sisters for the holidays. Some played in the snow, like Sonic, Tails, and Charmy. Others, namely Shadow and Omega, continued to wander around with nowhere to go. As they wandered, the duo bumped into Vector and Espio, who were doing some last-minute Christmas shopping.

"If you guys are looking for a place to stay, you ought to come over Amy's. She and Cream and Blaze have been cooking up Christmas Eve dinner all day, and I can smell it from here!" Vector offered with a hungry tone of voice.

"Anyone with a nose as large as yours is bound to smell something that far away," Espio pointed out.

"Heyyy, you better watch it, Espio! Santa's coming to town, and he won't get you anything if you keep making smart remarks like that!"

"I was merely making an observation," Espio muttered. "Really, though, you two are welcome to go to Amy's house tonight."

"While we're honored to be invited," Shadow said with no indication of excitement whatsoever, "Omega and I have prior commitments for tonight. Perhaps if we have time, we'll stop in."

"Welllllll, if you say so," Vector replied, "if we don't see you tomorrow, have a Merry Christmas, guys!"

Waving as they departed, Vector and Espio began to bicker about another remark that the chameleon made about Vector's nose. Shadow chuckled and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"They're always an interesting group, Chaotix," he thought aloud.

"Strange is more like it," Omega chimed in with his opinion, "I have difficulty understanding them sometimes."

"Ahh, it's the same with you, big guy," Shadow said, cracking a grin, "Rouge and I have trouble understanding you, too."

"I assure you that's because I am a very complex being, and my design is of utmost intricacy."

"Aren't we all," Shadow mumbled, glancing over the horizon to see an orange glow starting to appear. Sundown was upon them.

* * *

Bruce Sternitt prowled around a darker, poorer corner of town. He spit out a cigarette and shivered.

_Gettin' awful cold,_ Bruce thought, _I better check . . ._

He crossed the street to an old run-down building. The building's neon lights had been long out of commission, spelling out a gray and dark, "Theatre" in cursive letters. Bruce glanced into the broken glass at his reflection. He saw a bleak figure with baggy eyes and scarred frill. The tan, scaly figure stared straight back at him with despairing brown eyes.

"Ahh . . ." the lizard shook the depressing thoughts from his mind. He forced himself to avert his gaze from his pathetic reflection and pushed open the creaky door. The familiar musty smell entered his reptilian nostrils as he shut the door. A mundane tension filled the air as the door erupted in a burst of dust.

"Kids?" Bruce called into the dark theater, "I'm back."

There was a silence before the pitter-patter of small feet clambering across the floor.

"Daddy!" cried the voices, running up the aisle of seats. Two tiny frilled lizards, both resembling Bruce, nearly tackled their father. Bruce laughed and rubbed the kids' backs affectionately.

"Hey, you two little rascals. How was your day?"

"Oh, pop, look! Some guy came in last night and gave us this!"

The young boy held up a fluffy red scarf proudly. Bruce frowned, slightly concerned.

"Why was some guy wanderin' around in here?" he asked, "Who was he?"

The girl snatched the scarf back and examined it closely.

"Um . . . I think it was a hedgehog. It's dark in here, so I couldn't see him too good," the girl admitted innocently.

Bruce nodded, hoping this strange hedgehog wasn't a threat to his home.

"Lucy, did he say anything to you guys? Why'd he come in here?"

Lucy gently wrapped the scarf around her neck, embracing the warmth that it produced.

"I don't know why he was in here, but he asked us why we weren't somewhere with a decent heating system."

"Ha! I coulda told 'im that," Bruce muttered under his breath, and then to his kids, "anything else?"

"He said Merry Christmas!" they sang, almost simultaneously. Bruce chuckled at their high-pitched responses and hugged his kids tightly.

"C'mere, you two little rascals. Hey, you guys ready for Christmas?"

The children nodded eagerly.

"Have we been good this year, pop?" the little boy, Leo, asked timidly. Bruce squeezed his son's scaly nose.

" 'Course you have, kiddos. And I got a real treat in store for ya this year."

"Gee, pop, you really do?" Lucy's eyes lit up eagerly, thus confirming her name. Bruce grinned.

"You're both little angels. Momma would be proud of you both. Now, I got me some bread today. You hungry?"

"Yay!" they chirped, grateful. Bruce sat down, broke the loaf into pieces, and fed it to his kids. The devoured the pieces like hungry baby birds. While he still had a mouthful, Leo called to his father.

"Daddy, daddy, watch this! Lucy says I don't, but do you think I look like you when I do this?"

With a twitch of his shoulders, the little boy released his frill in attempt to look like his father. "Grr, I'm tough!" he growled.

Bruce chewed his bread and gazed at his son's frill with a twinge of sadness. Near the very top of his son's frill was a long, white scar that traveled all the way down. Bruce pursed his lips, trying to force back the awful memory. He could still hear his own voice calling to his wife when he saw her motionless on the ground, and his baby son crying next to her. Shaking it off, the lizard finished chewing and stood up.

"You gotta strike a pose when you frill up, buddy. Like this!"

Bruce stuck out his leg and placed his hands on his hips, striking a silly pose for his kids to laugh at. "Do this, Leo, and you'll be the spittin' image of your old man."

Leo laughed and ran to his father, looking him straight in the eyes with his own large, childish ones.

"You're amazin', pop," he said, his voice filled with childlike awe and admiration. With that, he closed his frill and held tightly to his father's leg. Lucy followed suit, taking the other leg in her small arms. Bruce smiled a genuine smile.

_Your dad's got a real treat, kids. Don't you worry. Lucinda . . . _Bruce thought, directing his thoughts to his deceased wife, _you'd be proud to see 'em._


	6. Angst

Omega's time outside was doing quite a number on his inner workings. His wiring was becoming stiff with the cold, and Shadow began to wonder whether it was such a good idea to let him stay with him much longer.

"Omega, are you sure you're doing okay? You're going to get rusty," he warned, concerned.

"I assure you . . . I'm fine," he said, his mechanical voice breaking.

Shadow shook his head.

"No, you're not. Let's stop at Amy's so you can warm your circuits there. Matter of fact, why don't I just drop you off there?"

"I made an agreement with the frilled lizard from the street. I thought the act of hand-shaking was meant to be a promise-sealing gesture. It should not be broken," he announced proudly, making Shadow wince.

"You, sir, are in more dire condition than I thought," he mumbled, leading Omega by the arm. Some fizz came from Omega's voice box.

"I do not know who you are referring to," he said after the fizz cleared. "Santa Claus is coming to town," he repeated from a speaker that hung outside of a store window. "You had better watch out."

Shadow nodded, pulling the robot's heavy arm as he turned around a corner.

"Okay, let's go," he insisted. The street they were on was Amy's street. Shadow mumbled to himself the numbers of each house, trying to remember Amy's. "Tweny-four . . . eighteen . . . twelve. Here we go . . ."

Shadow escorted a dazed Omega up the stairs of the front porch. After ringing the doorbell, the hedgehog noticed a beautiful smell seeping through the walls. Whatever it was that the girls were making inside, it smelled delicious.

A tiny figure opened the door—Cream.

"Oh, hi, Mister Shadow! And Mister Omega!" she greeted with a smile on her face. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Well, I'm not, but this one is," Shadow said, indicating Omega with a jerk of his thumb, "he's been outside for too long."

Cream nodded in some sort of childish understanding.

"Oh, I see. Do you want us to watch him here while you go out?"

Shadow shuffled his feet on the wood porch.

"If it's not too much trouble," he mumbled.

"I'll go ask Miss Amy!" she said excitedly, "Just a minute!"

Scurrying away, Cream went back into the kitchen to tell Amy the situation. Shadow managed to put Omega in front of him so he could catch the heat that radiated from inside the house.

"How's that, big guy? Warm?"

"The fire is so delightful," Omega replied drily, quoting Christmas songs again.

"Whatever that means. I'm guessing 'yes'."

Cream returned with Amy, who seemed almost as delighted as Cream that Shadow stopped by.

"Hi, Shadow! Cream told me what's going on. We'll take care of Omega for you!"

"Well, just be careful with him," Shadow warned, "he's not all there at the moment."

"All I want for Christmas is you," Omega droned.

Amy gave Shadow a questioning look, to which Shadow responded with a 'cuckoo' gesture traced next to his temple.

"Gotcha," Amy nodded. "What's wrong with him? Too much Christmas spirit?" she asked, stifling a giggle.

"Most certainly not from me, I can tell you that much," grunted the hedgehog.

"Aw, live a little, Shadow! Christmas is tomorrow!" Amy prompted, "aren't you excited?"

"Sure, I am."

Amy, not convinced by Shadow's disheartening expression, sighed.

"Well, if you say so. Come on in, Omega!" Omega stepped in, spluttering something about garlic in his soul. "Shadow, do want some hot cocoa?" she offered politely.

The hedgehog glanced over his shoulder to see how dark it was getting. When he realized the streetlights were starting to turn on for the night, he looked back at Amy and shook his head.

"Sorry, I gotta go."

"Go? Where do you have to go on Christmas Eve?" she inquired.

"I already made plans for tonight; I'm sorry," Shadow apologized quickly, and then hurried down the stairs. "Good night. I'll be back for Omega . . . hopefully soon."

"All right, g'night, Shadow!" Amy waved and then slowly closed the door, but only just before Shadow could hear Omega's booming voice:

"Fa la la la la . . . la la la la."

Chuckling, the hedgehog jet-skated down the street and went off to search for the alley he was scheduled to be at.

* * *

In the meantime, Rouge was muttering to herself as she filled out the paperwork that sat in front of her. The massive pile had slowly been shrinking, bit by bit, but Rouge's head ached from the overwhelming amount of information.

"Why the hell didn't I attend those meetings?" she murmured to herself over and over. Every now and then, she'd take a long sip of coffee to try and stay awake.

Eventually, the bat glanced at the clock. 6:03 P.M. "Forget it; I'm taking a break," she declared to herself, rising from her chair and slamming the pen down on her desk. Rouge sighed and ran her finger along the remaining stack of paper. She shuffled her way over to the dresser and took a look at the little box that Knuckles had given her for Christmas. It still sat unopened on her dresser. The bat shrugged and felt the silvery wrapping paper between her fingers. Like a child, the bat felt a warm feeling rise in her chest as she tore off the paper from the box. The box, a thin white cardboard container, seemed completely full, yet strangely light. Rouge gently shook it to determine whether or not there was something in it. Upon hearing nothing clattering about, the bat used her index finger to pull off the piece of tape that sealed the box shut. Once the tape came off, Rouge undid the top and removed a ball of tissue paper.

"What the heck . . ." she mumbled, confused. Rouge ripped off the tape from the paper to reveal a small, velvety box. "Ohh . . ." she breathed as she opened the delicate box. Inside was a necklace with a silver chain. The necklace bore a gorgeously shiny emerald embedded in silver. Rouge carefully took the necklace out of the box and clipped it around her neck. The way it sparkled as she angled herself to face the light was beautiful.

Peering back into the box, Rouge noticed a little handwritten note. It read:

_"This is a pure Angel Island Emerald. I found it after months of digging, and then had it fashioned into a necklace for you. No, it's not a chip from the Master Emerald; I know what you're thinking. Merry Christmas, _

_~Knux"_

Rouge cracked a small grin. Another beautiful piece to add to her collection of shiny things, and this time, it was given to her. A gift. Something that came from the heart. Normally, Rouge wouldn't have fallen for the sappiness that came from this sort of situation, but this time . . . this time was different. There was real feeling and sentiment behind this gift. Hard work, lots of time, and perhaps some sort of affection were all embedded in that silver that hung around Rouge's neck. Sappy, but . . . nice.

A sudden knock at the door came. Rouge, brightening up even more, took less than two minutes to get herself dressed and to at least make herself look decent. She rushed to the front door after someone had been knocking continuously and wouldn't stop.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she called hoarsely, realizing that it had almost been a full day since she'd talked to any other living being. Unlocking the door, Rouge opened it, half-expecting to see Knuckles. Or at least, someone she'd seen in the past year.

"Hello, sweetheart," said Bruce Sternitt. Rouge jumped back in surprise.

"Wh-Hello," she stammered, taken aback yet trying to be polite. "May I help you?"

"You most certainly can," the figure grinned and stroked his frill. He invited himself into the house, and, being significantly taller than Rouge, loomed over her. "I'm looking for Rouge the bat."

Rouge used one hand to push the lizard back and out of her personal space.

"Why, who are you? Some sort of a salesman?" she snapped, "Listen, I'm very busy. Make this quick, and keep it in the doorway."

"I'll do my best, babe," he said, attempting to be charming. "Let me introduce myself. Or, re-introduce myself."

Rouge crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm listening."

Bruce chuckled.

"The name's Bruce. Bruce Sternitt."

At first, Rouge furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and then a sinking feeling of both dread and recognition made her stomach churn.

"Bruce . . ." she started, trying to be pleasant, "how've you been, mac?"

"Heh, doin' swell, hon, pretty swell. How 'bout yourself?"

Rouge shrugged, trying to overcome the feeling of dread in her.

"Can't complain, I suppose," she mumbled.

_Maybe he's not here for that . . . I sincerely hope not . . ._

* * *

Shadow the hedgehog had been standing in the snow for almost a full hour, and Bruce hadn't shown up yet.

"Stupid lizard!" he said, cursing the lizard up and down as he paced frantically. "I can't believe I was this idiotic to agree with him!"

There was a muffled sound of slow footsteps crunching through the snow. Shadow stopped his pacing and turned to see if the sound was just his imagination.

"Bruce, is that you?" he called impatiently into the dimly lit street. There came a sharp laugh from his right side, where the alley was.

"No, I ain't no Bruce," one deep voice replied. "How 'bout you, Bones?"

"Not me," said the other voice, shriller and more cracked. "Guy's lookin' for the boss, right?"

"Yeah. You must be Shadow."

Shadow looked more closely into the foggy alley and coughed as the smell of cigarette smoke rapidly filled his nostrils. The two creatures stepped closer to the hedgehog until they came into the dim light, both wincing as their eyes adjusted to it. One was a gray rabbit with his ears slicked over one eye, and the other was a brown rat with his yellow teeth protruding from the upper lip.

"Might I ask who you are?" Shadow questioned, enunciating each word tartly. Both characters bowed simultaneously.

"I'm Smokey," the rabbit said.

"And I'm Bones," cackled the rat.

"We were told to meet you here tonight, Shadow the Hedgehog," Smokey told Shadow.

The hedgehog frowned.

"If Bruce isn't here, then forget it," he said, trying to dismiss the situation. "I don't have time for small talk."

As Shadow turned away, Bones flicked his tail in front of the hedgehog's shoes and watched as Shadow toppled to the ground.

"Oof!"

Smokey walked in front of Shadow and shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk . . . 's a shame you don't want to talk to us," he prompted, "Sternitt told us to meet ya here."

"That's right," Bones added, "who knows what could happen to your little bat friend if you don't stay?"

Shadow thought back to Bruce's offer. If he met him in this alley, then he wouldn't do anything to hurt Rouge. However, he wasn't here. The lizard had ripped him off; maybe he was already at Rouge's place, doing something awful to her.

"Sorry, kids, I'm not here for playtime," Shadow grunted, getting up. Bones and Smokey, without saying anything, scrambled in front of the reluctant hedgehog. Shadow snorted. "I wouldn't try that," he cautioned.

"Whaddya want for Christmas, kiddo?" Bones asked, failing in his attempt to buy time.

"I want to be left alone," Shadow said firmly, "pull crap like that on me one more time, and you'll be begging me for mercy."

Both thugs were unfazed by the threat.

"C'mon, pal, why don't you stay and chat?" Smokey took Shadow's arms and led him deep into the alleyway. "We'd love to have you over for dinner. I bet you're hungry."

Shadow struggled to break free of the rabbit's strong fists, but the best he could do was shoot chaos spears and arrows at the ground since his hands were pointing downward. He tried to muster up all the strength he could to free himself, but to no avail. Bones wrapped his tail around Shadow's mouth to shut out the curses that flew out of his mouth, and both juveniles led the hedgehog deeper into the alley.


	7. Peace and Good Will

"You thought I forgot, didn't you?"

Rouge shook her head violently.

"No, I didn't, you slimy bastard!" she yelled, her temper rising, "I . . . I didn't realize you'd be . . ."

"You didn't think I was gonna find you, didja? Too late, cupcake."

Rouge rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension headache that was forming in the front of her head.

"I tell you, now is not the time! I've got way too much stuff going on here!"

Bruce stepped dangerously closer to the bat.

"You'd better cough it up, princess. You promised to have that debt repaid, and here I am to get what you owe me."

"Give me some more time!" Rouge cried, her voice trembling, "I just can't this time of year."

"You were built on excuses and lies, Rouge the bat," Bruce said in a low voice, "I need that money."

"For what? So you can keep on gambling your life away?!" Rouge practically screamed at the lizard.

"_I learned from that mistake, okay?!_" Bruce's frill opened with a _woosh. _Before the bat could react to the defense mechanism, Bruce took her by the neck. He held her against a wall and breathed heavily with anger rising and falling in his chest. The lizard gazed at the bat's greenish eyes and recalled his anger issues, thus he tried to let his rage melt away. The rage didn't disappear, but it returned in a different form—despair. The lizard thought about his kids. Their smiling, innocent faces flashed in his mind. He took it further by allowing his brain to show him what would happen if they faced the same fate as his wife. Tears of anxiety swarmed in the lizard's eyes, and one rolled down his cheek. Loosening his grip on Rouge's neck, Bruce lowered his head and began to cry. Rouge pulled free of Bruce's grip and stared at the crumpled figure with a look of false pity.

"You're just as pathetic as back then," she scoffed after regaining her breath. "Look at you!"

Bruce wiped bitter tears from his eyes, trying to pull himself together.

"Don't say that," he pleaded, "I know I'm a horrible guy. You gotta give me that money, though."

"Why should I trust you, Sternitt? You're no better than you were back then; I can feel it," Rouge snapped back harshly.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Just hand it over, I'm beggin' ya, hon . . ."

While Rouge pondered Bruce's pathetic show, the lizard noticed an indent in his palm. He traced it a few times, and then peered at Rouge's neck. A glare of light caught the Angel Island necklace and drew Bruce to it. He stared at the emerald in awe and then shook his head. Rouge, oblivious to Bruce's discovery, turned back to the lizard.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you, Bruce. I don't have the money now, you'll have to come back when I do."

Bruce stood up and grimly brushed himself off.

"A deal's a deal, sweetheart," he said, "either you repay your debt, or I'll punish you for it."

"What're you going do?" Rouge challenged, spreading her arms.

Bruce, becoming angry again, pulled a switchblade from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it up to the bat's chin.

"I don't want to resort to this, hon, but if you don't pay up, you leave me no other choice," he said, voice shaking with fear.

When the doorbell rang, Bruce dropped the blade and moved back a few steps. The door opened suddenly, revealing two whimpering lizard children.

"Kids-!" Bruce uttered as they ran to him. Rouge stared at the two little frilled lizards in shock.

" . . . 'Kids'?"

The lizard ignored Rouge talked to his children, who were both trying to fight back tears.

"Guys, wha' happened? How'd you find me?"

"W-we looked everywhere f-for ya, p-pop," Leo stammered, playing with his red scarf, "th-the theater . . ."

"It . . . it caught fire," Lucy finished. Bruce widened his eyes.

"No . . . tell me you kids weren't foolin' around with cigarettes," he said in disbelief. Both lizards shook their heads rapidly.

"I-it wasn't us, pop. The buildin' next to us caught fire first, and then got the theater . . . it . . ."

"It burned down," Lucy concluded with tears in her eyes. Bruce hugged his children tightly.

"You guys ain't hurt, are ya?" he asked softly. Leo turned slightly to show his father a blackened portion of his frill. Bruce gasped and examined the injury closely. "Oh, Leo, buddy . . ."

"Don't worry pop," Leo piped up, "I tried t' be tough, like you. Lucy said, 'Leo, your frill is on fire!' real loud, and then I rolled in the snow 'til it was gone. See, pop? I didn't even cry."

As Bruce continued to ask his children questions, Rouge stood silently, watching what was unfolding before her. She picked up and connected bits and pieces of the conversation, until she had a loosely connected puzzle that was Bruce's current life. The lizard had two children, Leo and Lucy, who had been living in an old theater until it burned down. They had no mother, only Bruce, to take care of them. Now they had no home, either. Rouge fiddled with her gloves as she began to take guesses at why Bruce needed the money.

The lizard sighed and rubbed his eyes. He gave Rouge one last despairing glance, and then looked back at Lucy and Leo. The two kids were scrutinizing Rouge, curious, but Bruce tried to turn them away and out the door.

"Let's not waste any more of this lady's time," Bruce said to his kids with a horribly bitter tone. Lucy walked sadly to the door, while Leo, to Bruce's confusion, ran right up to Rouge.

"I dunno who you are, miss," he said quietly, "but Merry Christmas anyway."

Leo pulled the scarf from around his neck and offered it to Rouge.

What a montage of feelings overcame Rouge as she looked down at the mini-Bruce's large and saddened eyes. Bruce really had been trying to provide for his family with the money, and she didn't have it. Guilt was first in the emotional flood, and Rouge tried to push it away. She wasn't to blame . . . not entirely, anyway. What came next was something tiny—sympathy. Poor families never caught her attention; she didn't care for them. This child was offering her all that he had, even after losing his living space. No, no, she was too dignified to feel this way. The boy held the scarf up high for her to accept it. Leo took her hesitance to mean that she was disgusted by his offer.

"Don't worry, ma'am, I only had this for 'bout a day. Fella gave it t' me yesterday, so it should be pretty clean."

Rouge didn't say a word. She tried too hard to shoot down the emotions she was feeling and to replace them with pride.

"Th-thanks, kiddo," she said faintly, accepting the child's offer. Leo nodded and noticed the emerald necklace around her neck.

"You're welcome, ma'am. That's a real nice necklace you got there."

"Thanks," she mumbled in reply, as her internal battle between feelings raged on. She felt the scarf between her fingers, feeling in the back of her mind that it was familiar.

As Leo ran to catch up with his father and sister that were standing in the doorway, Rouge felt the necklace around her neck, thinking the unthinkable.

_No, no, no, I can't do that . . . _she thought, _anything but that . . . this was a gift. It's mine; I . . . I'm keeping it . . ._

The door closed behind the Sternitt family, just as Rouge threw on her winter coat.

"Bruce!"

She flung the door open, causing Bruce and his kids to look back in questioning. Rouge undid the necklace, removing it from her neck. Bruce frowned in confusion. Rouge squinted through the snowflakes at the shiny Angel Island Emerald, pursing her lips. Bruce turned around slowly and walked back up the steps of the front porch.

"Yes?"

Rouge took a final look at the fine piece of jewelry and covered her eyes as she held it out to the lizard.

"Just . . . just take it," she stuttered, "take it and leave me alone."

Bruce stared at the necklace, dumbfounded. He slid the necklace from Rouge's hand and felt it between his scaly claws.

"Rouge, I . . ."

"Don't!" she cried, holding up one finger, "Do not say another word. Just . . . leave me alone."

She rushed back into the house and slammed the door, leaving the lizard in the snow with his two kids. For the first time in a while, Bruce smiled genuinely.

Which emotions won Rouge's war?

* * *

You might be wondering what happened to our dear friend, Shadow. Here's how it went: After being dragged through the alleyway by Smokey and Bones, they invited the hedgehog to have dinner with them in a small, run-down old bar. Of course, Shadow refused the offer multiple times and continued to struggle. Soon enough, Smokey and Bones couldn't take Shadow's struggling anymore, and they decided to just let him go.

"Wh-what?" Shadow asked once Smokey let go of him, "You can't possibly be serious . . ."

"We are, pal!" said an annoyed rabbit, "we try to be nice to a fella on Christmas Eve, but we get rejected."

Shadow crossed his arms.

"Forcing a guy into a bar by pushing him and covering his mouth isn't exactly considered nice at this point."

Bones chuckled.

"Yeah, sure. Well, be on your way, mac. Have a Merry Christmas."

The rabbit and the rat started to walk away, leaving Shadow in the snow, grateful yet baffled. The first thought that came to mind was Rouge, so he took off to see if she was all right. Once he arrived at her house, Shadow didn't bother knocking or ringing the doorbell. He barged in on a rather discombobulated bat, who lay on the floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "Did something happen?"

Rouge chuckled as if she had gone mad.

"Yeah, too much," she said. "Where have you been? And where's Omega?"

Shadow frowned.

"Omega's at Amy's house, having Christmas dinner with them. I'm trying to figure out what happened to you."

Rouge explained everything as quickly as she could before getting back to her paperwork. Shadow listened carefully, and then nodded slowly.

"And you actually gave it up?" he asked, disbelieving.

Rouge nodded.

"The kid's eyes were so freakin' big!" she exclaimed. "Oh, and I don't suppose you'd know where this came from?" She held out the red scarf.

Shadow chuckled.

"The kids' eyes were pretty big, weren't they?" he said, taking his scarf back, "I just gave this to him; why'd he give it back?"

"Who knows?"

Shadow then recounted his own story to the bat, explaining the first meeting with Bruce and then the encounter with Smokey and Bones. Rouge's eyes widened upon hearing the names.

"I knew those guys once . . ." she muttered, "we were friends before, you know. All with Bruce."

Shadow nodded solemnly and then clicked his tongue.

"Well, sorry to break the sappiness, but you've got some paperwork to tend to. I should probably get Omega."

"Shadow!"

"Hmm?"

Rouge pulled on her gloves and slapped on a hat.

"I'm coming, too."

Shadow looked at her, puzzled.

"You've got—"

"I'll get to it, don't worry. I want to come just to Amy's, and then right back here."

Shrugging it off, Shadow took Rouge to Amy's house to retrieve their friend.

Amy's house was very quiet. The only sounds that came were the sounds of the young children snoring away on the floor and on furniture, and Amy and Blaze cleaning up the kitchen. Once Shadow knocked on the door, he and Rouge both jumped back after seeing who answered the door.

"Your robot friend seemed to recognize me and my kids. He wanted to invite us for dinner," Bruce Sternitt said with a grin to Shadow. "Want something to eat, you two?"

* * *

Christmas Day had come at last. The kids threw wrapping paper all over, leaving a great mess all over the place. Sonic ran from Amy's pleas to give her a "Christmas Kiss", no matter how many times he stepped under the mistletoe on accident. Knuckles sat on the couch with Rouge as she told her story and apologized for giving away the gift.

"I'm having a hard time believing you," he said coldly, "you'd never give something away like that."

Knuckles' views were only changed after Bruce held up the emerald necklace for him to see.

"Turns out lil' Rouge has a heart after all," Bruce said, ruffling her hair.

That Christmas, even though there had been some tension before, left everyone even more cheerful than anyone could remember. Even Shadow and Omega got along very well that day. It may have been the togetherness of the family, the guests of honor, or the fact that something had been changed in a hard heart and a broken heart. Everyone could feel it unfolding, and that made the season's peace and joy become something to be remembered. Through the gift-opening, the carols, and even the Christmas dinner, happiness pulsed through everyone's hearts.

Rouge did finish her paperwork the day after, for those who were wondering, with the somewhat willing Shadow and Omega's help.

* * *

_"Another year has come and past_

_like moments in an hourglass_

_and at the end of this year's trail_

_an offering; a final tale_

_of love, long lost _

_and then refound_

_and the child by which_

_those dreams were bound." _

_~Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Story of "The Lost Christmas Eve"_

* * *

**A/N: Welcome Christmas, while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand. **

**Merry Christmas to all!**


End file.
